Princes, Pearls, and Perfect Pumpkins
by Cerulean Grace
Summary: Terra and Ventus want to give Aqua an amazing Christmas gift; an invitation to the royal ball, complete with a beautiful gown and chariot. Putting it all together, however, will require the help of their friends. (Oneshot khsecretsanta gift for lanternjawedstudmuffin)


"There has to be a pearl s _omewhere_ down here" Namine grumbled. The search had taken about an hour thus far and she had made a lot of progress scratching off materials from her list. Pearls, ribbons, silks: making a dress took a lot of time and energy! She had always favored her basic style, and could not understand how anyone could put in this much effort for an outfit. But she refused to go back to Ventus without the final item. She had seen his angry look close and personal a few times before, and was not willing to see it again.

"Are you sure we checked down there yet?" Kairi questioned, pointing to a ledge beneath them. There were a few practicalities to being a few inches tall. Searching for random materials in mouse holes, for example. However, the size also brought upon a few challenges; the relatively small areas within the walls and behind dressers were now their own type of fortress.

"I'm positive we've checked down there a few times. Just like we've checked everywhere else in this hole. I just don't think there are any pearls down here. Maybe if we meet up with the others-"

"We can't give up yet!" Kairi interjected, "Come on, I think Ventus mentioned there was another hidden area over here." She too didn't want to go back to Ventus emptyhanded.

Terra, Aqua, and Ventus had done a lot to help Cinderella in the past. Now, Christmas was rolling around, and Terra and Ventus had cashed in on their good deeds and managed to get Aqua a royal invitation to the Christmas ball. Cinderella had seemed thrilled to assist them, but they wanted to surprise their best friend. Not only did they want her to attend the ball, but they were going all out to make it the best night ever. A beautiful dress, a charmed coach, and hopefully a dance with the prince himself.

But all these magical gifts meant they had to call in a few more favors from some of their other friends.

One favor in the form of two girls, shrunken down in a mouse hole, on an endless search for the materials to make Aqua the best ball gown the world(s) had ever seen.

"Hey! Look up there!" Kairi pointed to a shining curve on a ledge about twice her height. A shining curve that could only belong to a shining pearl. Namine joined her, eagerly observing the sight. "The only issue," Kairi muttered, narrowing her eyes at the target, "is reaching it. Quick, give me a boost!"

"Boost?"

"Yes a boost! Let me climb onto your shoulders, I should be able to reach it if-"

"No way!" Namine nervously stammered. She didn't have to go through exhausting keyblade training like the rest of her friends; she probably had the weakest upper body strength of the pack! "Let me get on your shoulders!"

"Fine, just hurry up will you? I don't know about you, but I've been a bit too small for a bit too long, thank you very much."

A few seconds of tangled limbs and balancing bodies later, and Namine was properly settled on Kairi's shoulders. She extended her reach as far as she could but the pearl remained just out of her reach. She felt her fingertips slide across the smooth surface, but couldn't get any type of grasp.

"What are you waiting for, grab it!"

"I can't! It's too…. High!" She shouted, extending her arms a painful amount.

"C'mon Nami! It's right there!" Kairi was exasperated; hours of searching had gotten them to this final task, and she was desperate. She raised on her tiptoes as high as she could go, Namine nearly losing balance as she too tried to move from sitting on Kairi's shoulders to nearly standing.

"Just a… little… bit… and…" Namine reached, finally getting her entire hand onto the pearl, "Got it!"

The pearl rolled off the edge of the ledge, bouncing against the stone floor right as Kairi lost her balance. Both the girls landed in a heap on the floor, their prize just a few inches away.

Kairi laughed loudly, relief washing through her. Namine found herself laughing too. After hours of being tiny, tired, and now very hungry, the mission's completion could not have come fast enough. Kairi stood up, picking up their prize before offering Namine her other hand, which the blonde girl eagerly accepted. The two girls walked hand in hand out the mouse hole, back to where their friends were waiting.

"The way you flirt is shameful" Riku sighed, flicking a pumpkin seed at his best friend. Searching for the perfect pumpkin was tedious work, but it did come with some perks; a lot of time to hang out with Sora, and a lot of pumpkin seeds.

"I would hardly say that asking a farmer for some help finding a pumpkin is _flirting,_ Riku"

Riku snorted disbelievingly; he hardly counted the flattery and flirty smile at the helpful young boy as just _asking for some help_. In his opinion, it was a bit closer to bribing the young man to point them into the prize-winning pumpkin direction. Not that he could fully complain; the pumpkin patch seemed to stretch on for miles, and if someone could eagerly point them in the direction of the supposed _perfect_ pumpkin Terra was forcing them to find, then he would just have to go along with it.

After an hour of meandering the patch, Riku had found several pumpkins that looked good enough to be magically transformed into a coach. Shouldn't any pumpkin be good enough? Wasn't that the whole point of magic? But no, Sora had rejected every single one outright, stating that when the _perfect_ pumpkin came along, he would know it. That had been more than an hour ago, and Riku had since settled on not pointing out pumpkins anymore. He did, however, slice some open. He liked eating the seeds, and of course, flicking some at Sora, who huffed every time he felt the tiny weapon hit him.

"I hope this royal ball is worth all this effort" Riku speculated.

"Of _course_ it is!" Sora immediately shot back, "Dances like this are every young girls dream. You get dressed up all fancy, and you may even get to dance with the prince! Every girl wants to dance with the prince! His name is Prince _Charming,_ Riku. With a name like that, he has to be every girl's dream guy."

"Every _girl's_ dream guy?" Riku pondered, "He sounds a bit like yours, too."

Sora stuck his tongue out at his friend but refused to give him a response. He had a pumpkin to focus on, and they had reached the area where the supposed best pumpkin in the patch had been growing for some time. Looking around, though, the place seemed a bit abandoned. They were at the edge of a surrounding dark woods. The only pumpkins in sight were still small, and some were still green.

"Maybe my supposed _flirting_ didn't work; all these pumpkins look far from perfect" Sora pouted. Some of these pumpkins had potential, sure. But nothing prize winning.

"Huh, are you sure?" Riku muttered, "I think I might see a winner."

Sora sighed again, stepping over an oddly-shaped pumpkin as his eyes continued to sweep the vine-covered ground in front of him. "Very funny, but _every_ pumpkin you see is a winner. We have to take this seriously."

"Sora, if a pumpkin that is eight feet tall doesn't satisfy you, I truly don't know what will"

"Huh?" Sora asked, his head tilting to the side like a curious puppy. Riku choked back some laughter at his expression, and looked back to his find. At the very edge of the patch, as hidden as it could be in the shade of the woods, was the most enormous pumpkin the two boys, and perhaps anyone, had ever seen.

"Riku," Sora said quietly, a bit in awe, "I think we found the perfect pumpkin."

Twilight had covered the sky, and Ventus was practically bouncing with happiness. The dress had been completed; stunning and blue, he personally thought Aqua would look like a princess in her own right wearing it. A bit of magic had transformed the giant pumpkin into an elegant coach, and it was waiting for his best friend to make her descent. Right now, Namine and Kairi were helping her get into her ensemble. He thought back to how thrilled Aqua had been with Terra and his gift. More than that, he thought of how much his friend deserved a wonderful night out. Aqua had been there for him and Terra more than anyone else; a friend, mother, sister, and teacher wrapped all into one beautiful being.

"How long do you think it'll take her, the ball is starting soon" Terra was pacing a bit anxiously. He didn't want to rush Aqua; he just wanted everything to go right for her tonight. She had put up with way too many hardships from him in the past, and now he was doing everything he could to make it up to her. He hoped she would have fun tonight. Cinderella had stated before that she would do everything in her power, as well, to make this the best night for Aqua. Aqua had helped her before in having her own magical night at the ball, it was the least she could do.

"Don't worry about it Terra!" Ven laughed as he said his friend's nervous pacing. "She'll be down soon, there is still time before the ball starts. And so what if she arrives late? She can make an entrance!"

"Yeah, a late entrance may even catch the prince's eye even more" Sora stated a bit dreamily, sitting by the door.

Riku flicked Sora's shoulder lightly, "I think that's enough fairytales for you."

Sora was going to respond, but was cut off when he caught a sparkle of blue in the corner of his eye. All four boys looked upstairs, where Namine and Kairi were on the top step hand in hand.

"May we present-" Kairi started with grandeur.

"The most _beautiful_ guest attending tonight's ball" Namine finished, giggling as she also tried to follow Kairi's elegant presentation.

The two girls both parted to allow everyone to get a view of said guest at the top of the stairs. Aqua was in her new gown, her face touched up with a bit of makeup that her friends had never seen her wear before. On her feet with her own glass slippers, courtesy of Cinderella, tinted blue and sparkling in the light.

"Wow" Terra whispered, a bit dazed.

"Wow indeed" Ventus reiterated, but he wasn't in as much of a trance. Everyone seemed so shocked that his best friend was gorgeous, but he wasn't surprised at all!

Terra blinked a few times, trying to focus. "Well," he stated, clearing his throat and grinning, "If you're ready, miss, your chariot awaits."

All six of the remaining friends had to race to arrive at the ball the same time as the magical chariot. They weren't going to linger; they just wanted to see Aqua make her entrance. Maybe stay around for a few minutes to see if the prince was as awed as they expected he'd be.

They remained out of sight as Aqua carefully stepped into the palace, and to their delight, everyone else was as taken aback by her ensemble, and her dazzling smile, as her friends were. Ventus and Terra exchanged bright grins; they knew she was going to have a great night, only one of many that she deserved.

The group continued to look on as she made her entrance into the ballroom. The crowd immediately hushed as she made her way up to the center of the room, where Prince Charming and Cinderella had paused to admire her entrance. Cinderella knowingly looked out past the room, adding her own smile to Terra and Ventus's.

They couldn't hear what Aqua said as she tapped the prince's shoulder, but Sora eagerly stepped in to narrate.

"Here we go!" He excitedly whispered between Kairi and Riku, the latter rolling his eyes. "Now, the prince and her get to-"

But Sora was cut off a bit early as he took in the sight ahead of him, Riku laughing happily next to him. Sora found himself smiling too.

Aqua _was_ having one of the best nights of her life. But she wasn't dancing with a prince; she was dancing with a princess.


End file.
